TORONO On Wednesday, the performance of Arsenal mattered more than the result. The Gunners’ season was never going to be defined by the Carabao Cup, but a 3-1 loss to West Ham will linger after their fourth-round exit.
Mikel Arteta told his team to maintain a high level over moving competitions before this match. They failed the task, playing their poorest game of the season and raising questions about which games they care about.
“What it shows you is that in football, what matters is the day,” Arteta said. “What happens tomorrow matters more than what happened three days ago.” We have to use this defeat, this pain, to prepare the best way to go to Newcastle on Saturday and win.”
Tomás Soucek appeared to grab Aaron Ramsdale‘s shirt before Ben White headed Jarrod Bowen’s corner into his own net in the 16th minute, causing a controversy.
Arsenal’s claims were rejected since VAR wasn’t used in the Carabao Cup until the semifinals.
“There’s no goal with VAR,” Arteta said. “I know perspective and crowd size make things difficult for officials, but I won’t use that as an excuse.” We can still compete for the ball better than we did then. Obviously, that destroys momentum, a crucial game element.”
Arsenal soon surrendered. After the break, Ramsdale saved Bowen’s attempt to extend the lead, but Mohamed Kudus scored in minute 50 with fantastic control and finish.
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After a slight deflection off Jakub Kiwior, Bowen scored a third ten minutes later that Ramsdale could have done better. David Raya replaced Ramsdale in goal in the previous round on September 27, so he had to wait until then to shine, but he notched a little here.
Arteta believes Raya plays better from the back. Ramsdale had the lowest pass completion percentage (74.1%) of all Arsenal players, and West Ham scored three goals on five shots.
Kai Havertz spent much of the game on the bench after a great start, Oleksandr Zinchenko was pulled after another bad defensive performance, and Fabio Vieira underperformed after several promising performances.
Arsenal’s night wasn’t about individuals. This collective failure to take responsibility will have incensed Arteta since it reminded him of the dark days of his authority, when he had to fight to control the changing room.
Arteta later contradicted this, but substituting Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli with the club behind 3-0 felt like a message to his underachievers. In the final 10 minutes, he started Martin Odegaard, who had been rested the weekend before due to a hip injury.
Odegaard scored a nice consolation goal in stoppage time, but the mayhem was still visible.
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“I’m really disappointed,” Arteta said. “I’m responsible. After emptying the cup, we played a fresh game. We planned to compete differently than we have—as we discussed for 48 hours.”
Declan Rice made his London Stadium debut after departing the Hammers for £105 million in the summer, before Odegaard, Saka, and Martinelli. His return was received with applause and jeers, and those who disliked their previous captain enjoyed Rice and his more notable comrades’ small contributions.
“We could be competitive,” said West Ham manager David Moyes. “I want to be a competitive league team if possible. If we can’t do that, I’ll need to do well in the cups.”
Arsenal has become a “really good league team” under Arteta. However, nights like this must be forgotten to maintain and improve that image.
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